Kit and Mom fighting?

[Cellani]

So two days ago we had 2 surprise kits, because when we bought two males, we apparently got a male and a female.. And because they were from a pet store we haven't been able to hold them long enough to gender our two, we didn't know. Now one of our kits it seemingly fighting with the mother? They both kind of chirp at eachother whenever they get close, and I'm assuming one of them is biting... I'm unsure if I should seperate them or what, but momma and one of the kits does not seem to be getting along..

TL;DR I'm not looking to be berated for everything I'm probably doing wrong, and have anxiety about posting about this situation because of how often that seemingly happens, but I need some help.

 

[Dreamlite]

You need to check the females nipples. They could be trying to nurse and she may not have milk. How old are the kits? Has the male been removed? If not that needs done immediately. Female can bed the day they give birth which would be a huge drain on her.

 

[Cellani]

How do I go about checking the females nipples and how to check if she has milk, it's been 3 days, and there wasn't a problem until last night, the kits are a little over 72 hours old, the male was removed ASAP, within 30 minutes of me realizing she was giving birth, and I noticed quickly.

 

[Dreamlite]

Hold the mother by her tail and look/feel the nipples. If they are swollen or have scabs that can be a sign of trouble. Are you weighing the kits? Growth can be a sign if her milk has or have come in

 

[Cellani]

I absolutely cannot pickup the mother, with or without force, with or without blanket, now it appear our grey one is picking on our white one, we weighed them 3 days ago, and they were both very close in size, both around 50 grams, yesterday we weighed and the grey one is at 61, and the white one is at 43 grams, the grey one is literally bullying our smaller white one, I've tried rotating them out for the past 6 hours, 1 hour in each time, and the white one won't hand feed, I cannot, no matter what get her to take food from me
I have no clue what to do, and am afraid we are going to lose the white one if it keeps going this way

 

[Cellani]

Well it takes like 24 ******* hours for my messages to go through, but there is a huge bald spot, and scabs all over the bald spot. I have no idea what to do.

 

[Cuddlebug]

GEt momma to the vet asap. If those sores become infected she could end up with mastitis. Until then rub some vitamin e oil on her sores. You need to pick her up. She does not h ave a choice in the matter. Just reach in and grab the base of her tail then slide the other hand underneath her and lift. She needs attention now. Also, keep trying with the little one. He is not getting any food because he is being bullied. If you do nothing he will starve and/or fight with his brother. Both can end in death.

 

[6Dusters]

If they were mine, I would hand feed the smaller one and rotate them in and out. This gives the smaller kit time to snuggle and warm with mom. And the other is in a warming box with a heating pad and multiple layers in the box so they can move away from areas too warm and areas too cool. Throw in an extra piece of fleece. They like to crawl under it and snuggle while away from mom. Keep a daily record of weight. No other way of telling how much nutrition they are getting if you do not.

I've always used the two hours rotation system. I've had to do it with a set of quads ( who fought ), a set of twins ( no mothers milk) and a single ( no mothers milk)

My rotation system ( with more than one kit ) means the kits are never together with mom at the same time. Big one in, little one out. And swap the little one in and big one out. I know other people have different versions or rotation. But this is the only one that has ever worked for me. Because....larger kits can get real aggressive if only one nipple is producing. Or if mom has no milk at all, they always seem to want to suckle only one. Go figure.

Certainly pull the mother out and check as suggested in the above thread. If that breast is red and angry, you have serious problems. It's a vet visit and meds.

If you or anyone reading this and doesn't understand what do to in the event of having to hand feed, and "what to feed them"......go to the FAQ. There is life saving information in there for kits.

Adding afterwards: Kits can be horrible to one another when competing for food. They will bite each others ears off, blind others, bite each other through the mouth and nose.....savages.

 

[Cellani]

Okay, so we took mom to the vet, she has medication, she hates taking it, but we're trying our best.. WE have been rotating the babies in and out. The vet gave me a recipe for formula, I made some of it last night, and babies will not take it, I try to burrito wrap them and put a tiny bit on their bottom lips, and the lick it up, then freak out and manage to wiggle loose out of the cloth I'm using, the little one is up about 4 grams from when she was getting bullied, we will be weighing them here shortly to check todays progress. But overall we are tending to momma, babies are gaining weight as far as we can tell, and things are going a bit better. Thanks for your support everyone, any tips on hand feeding kits would be appreciated however.

 

[Cuddlebug]

If the formula the vet fave you is not goat's milk, you need to get some. You can get fresh which is best from most Walmart stores. The brand is Meyenberg. Add s drizzle of black strap molasses and a tablespoon of baby rice cereal to it. Make sure that the formula is at least slightly warmer than room temperature. They usually do not like it cold. If you cannot find fresh, go to the baking isle and get the condensed. Mix with one can of water. Use the molasses and the rice cereal with it, too. I have found feeding babies easier if you skip the burrito and hold them on their backs with the head slightly elevated. The babies should gain a minimum of 1- 2 grams a day. For an example: the babies that are fed by their mothers here gain 4 - 5 grams a day. They usually gain less when hand fed.